Richard Gephardt: “I rise tonight to ask Members to vote for this motion to recommit. I do it in a bipartisan way. We have always had a…”

“I rise tonight to ask Members to vote for this motion to recommit. I do it in a bipartisan way. We have always had a bipartisan foreign policy for this country. We have always tried to stop partisanship at the water's edge. And we have always tried to write these authorization bills for foreign policy together. And we have always tried to balance the power of the President with the power of the Congress in reaching our foreign policy. In all humility, I suggest to all of my colleagues that this bill does not carry on that tradition. I was proud of the House last night when in a bipartisan way we refused to give up powers that I think it was important for the Congress to keep with regard to how we declare and make war. And I ask tonight that we pass this motion to recommit; we leave more of the power in reordering the structure of our foreign policy to the President, that as we make these cuts we give the President more authority in exactly where the cuts ought to be made. Let me finish with this simple thought: Foreign aid and foreign policy are not popular and never have been in any district in these United States. But it is vitally important to every one of our citizens that we have a good foreign policy that is in the deep self-interest of every American citizen and in our great country. The best way to do that is to make it bipartisan and keep it that way.”